Have a Little Faith
by Rose-I-am
Summary: Rose Tyler had no idea where she was. All she knew was that one minute she was standing on a beech and the next she was in a backyard. What she didn't know was that she was about to meet a little girl who would quickly change her life, but who was this girl and why does she seem to always run into the doctor?
1. Chapter 1

"Who are you?" A little girl sitting at her window called to a funny looking man who happened to walk through her back yard.

The man looked up to the window with a gleam in his eye that people only got when saying something they rather enjoyed saying. "My names the Doctor"

"You have a funny name" the little girl said "it suits you"

"Oi what do you mean by that"

"Well have you looked at yourself lately? You're wearing a bow-tie. My mummy once told my daddy that only stupid people wear bow ties"

"Well little girl I'll have you know bow ties are very cool. And for your information I am probably one of the smartest people you will ever meet so you can tell your mummy that bow-ties are for smart people"

Her face fell "I don't think she'd like me very much if I did that"

"And why not"

"She doesn't like me very much"

The Doctor's face fell instantly just like the little girl's in the window. Out of everything in the world that he didn't like, there was nothing he hated more than people mistreating innocent people, especially children. "Well" he asked hoping for a more positive response "What about your father"

"He doesn't like me much either, but that's okay" she said instantly trying to smile again "at least I have a teddy bear that loves me"

The Doctor didn't know what to say he was never exactly good with domestics he tended to just make it worse, so instead he changed the topic. "So little girl what's your name"

"I'm not little" She whined but when she realized the doctor didn't care what she thought she sighed and answered him "My name is Faith, Faith Wiara"

The Doctor couldn't help but laugh when he heard her name it was just too perfect. "Laughing is rude Mr.; you didn't see me laughing at your name"

"Laughing is not rude! In some cultures it is a sign of great admiration!"

"Well here laughing at people is rude!"

"Yeah well I'm not from around here"

"No duh Mr."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well it's obvious that you aren't from around here, since I would remember you if I had seen you before"

"Well maybe I just moved here"

"You couldn't have, there were no houses for sale"

The Doctor refused to be beaten especially by a little girl that couldn't be more than five years old. "How do you know maybe you just haven't seen it?"

"But I would have seen it cause I read the paper and they always put all the houses for sale in the paper" she said with a smirk on her face thinking she had won.

The Doctor was attempting to figure out a comeback when he realized something "wait you read the paper, how old are you?"

"Ha I won" Faith proclaimed and stuck out her tongue at the Doctor.

"What do you mean you won?"

"Our argument you changed the topic so I win by default. Ha!" again Faith stuck her tongue out at the Doctor.

"Fine you win, now answer my question" the Doctor pouted. He didn't like this very much, the little girl confused him. First, she talked to strange men outside her window, then she claims to read the paper, and finally she just out argued him. I mean come on, he is a nine hundred and some odd old time lord and he just got out argued by a little human girl.

"I'll answer yours if you answer mine" she said stubbornly crossing her arms.

"Fine what is your question?"

The gloating look left Faith's face when she asked "Why did you laugh at me?"

The Doctor felt horrible when he realized that the little girl had in fact been offended that he had laughed at her. The Doctor regretted saying it a little; after all, he didn't mean to make her sad. Stupid domestics. "I wasn't laughing at you" he explained "I was laughing at your name. In the polish language Wiara means Faith. Your name is literally Faith Faith"

Faith grinned slightly "Okay I guess that is a little funny. I guess that means I have to answer your question now don't I? I just turned six yesterday"

The Doctor didn't know earth children that well but six seemed a little young to be reading the newspaper. "Well happy birthday Faith"

A huge grin inched its way onto her face only to be ruined when a loud female voice from somewhere within the house yelled "FAITH!"

"Well I guess I better go" she sighed "I hope to see you again sometime Doctor" and with that she ran into her room and out of sight.

"Yeah" the Doctor muttered to himself since he knew she could no longer hear him "Maybe you will"


	2. Chapter 2

Rose had no clue where she was. Actually that was a lie Rose knew exactly where she was, she always knew exactly where she was. She was in England; Leadworth to be exact the thing she didn't know was how she arrived here. One second she had been on a beach and the next one she was standing in the middle of a flower garden in some random person's backyard. Something else felt off Rose wasn't quite sure what it was but it felt familiar. Almost like when you are on a boat for a really long time and when you finally get off the ground beneath your feet and it feels so natural. Yea, something like that.

Unfortunately, when she had appeared she had landed in the middle of a patch of flowers and happened to be crushing a very nice looking daffodil. It seemed to be night time, but Rose wasn't exactly sure. Not knowing what time it was hadn't been a problem in a very long time. Normal Rose new exactly what time it was and exactly what day it was, but that odd thing must be messing with her inner clock because she was rendered clueless.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the voice of a little girl saying "You aren't the Doctor" It took a few seconds for Rose to locate the girls voice but when she did her eyes were met by a rather grumpy looking little girl looking out of a window on the second story of the house who's backyard she was currently in.

"Last time I checked I wasn't" Rose smiled up at the girl "Sorry about the flowers by the way they were rather pretty I didn't mean to step on them"

"So if you're not the Doctor who are you anyways" She asked ignoring Rose's rambling.

"Oh I'm Rose and you are"

"Faith" she said simply.

"Nice to meet you Faith, so what are you doing talking to strangers in your backyard anyways?"

"Well what you are doing in my backyard anyways" Faith retorted.

"Good point, but haven't your parents ever told you not to talk to strangers for all you know I could be very dangerous" of course Rose didn't want to scare Faith but talking to strangers wasn't a very safe habit for any kid to have.

"My parents never said anything about that" Faith said all happiness having left your voices.

"Well then I'll tell you for them, don't talk to strangers"

"Fine I won't, but since I already know your name you aren't a stranger anymore" Faith said with a triumphant gleam in her eye.

Rose pretended to be offended before she said "I'll have you know that I am very strange, in fact I am so strange I would give everyone on earth a run for their money in a strangeness competition" This caused Faith to giggle. If only she knew the truth behind Rose's statement, she would be scared out of her mind not laughing.

"So you want to come inside" Faith said getting a control of her laughter.

"Won't your parents think it's weird if a stranger is in your house?" Rose wondered.

"Doesn't matter what they think" Faith said her voice steely "They aren't home anyway"

"Wait then who is home with you"

"No one I'm by myself"

Rose was shocked to say the least. What kind of horrible monster would leave a little girl alone by herself at night? "Faith how old are you?"

Faith beamed "I turned six years old two days ago"

Six she was barley six years old and her parents just left her here to fend for herself. Of all the cruel things she has witnessed humans do this made the list of the absolute worse, which is saying a lot. "Maybe I should come inside"

"Awesome the door should be unlocked so I'll meet you there"

When Rose walked in the house she quickly scanned her surroundings, a habit she picked up from working at torchwood for many years. To put it simply the house was a mess, but not in a way you would expect from a little girl. Books and magazines were scattered everywhere like they had been thrown around, a cup of coffee had been spilled on the couch and never been cleaned up, the lamp in the corner had been broken leaving dangerous shards of ceramic laying around, and the pillows from the couch were all out of place. If Rose was right, and she normally was when it came to things like this, people had been fighting.

Faith came running down the stairs into the front room that rose had been standing in. Faith had eyes so dark brown that it seemed as if she had no pupil and hair that matched her eye color perfectly. She was short, even for a six year old and her overly large worn out T-shirt she was wearing as pajamas made her look even thinner that she was which was pretty thin to start with. Her skin looked especially pale compared to her dark hair, and it also made the bruises Faith had on her arms and check very prominent.

The bruises and the mess in the room confirmed rose's fears, but she kept a smile on her face to reassure the little girl standing in front of her. "So Faith is there any good restaurants around here I'm rather hungry"

Faiths eyes lit up and she nodded vigorously "I've always wanted to go to the McDonalds place in town, because everyone in school says it's really good, but mommy and daddy say that it's all garbage and they don't want to pay for me to eat garbage" Faith somehow managed to say this all in one breath making Rose smile.

"McDonalds it is then" Rose said causing Faith to jump up and down in excitement.

"Let me just go get changed!" Faith squealed already half way up the steps of the stairs.

As they sat in a brightly lit booth eating chips and burgers at 11pm, Rose and Faith talked about everything from fairy princesses to the super-secret spy weapon Faith had got in her kids meal. Rose didn't bring up the bruises, the mess, or Faith's parents once even though she knew she had to do something about it and quickly at that. She also knew that right now was not the time to ruin the fun Faith was having for the first time in what Rose expected to be a while. After all, there was plenty of time to get things done in the morning.


	3. Chapter 3

Faith was running late and she knew it. She sighed at the thought of the amount of trouble she would be in once her parents got a hold of her. They had constantly reminded her about how she was supposed to be on her best behavior and act like the polite little girl they wish she would be. They also had said that if she didn't do exactly what they had told her to she would regret it. By do exactly what they told her they meant she was supposed to lie to the judges about how amazing they were at being parents. She didn't really want to do this though because lying was bad and if she said they were good parents she might have to stay with them, which is something she definitely does not want to do.

Maybe today would work out well and she would never have to see them again. Rose had told her that if things go well she would get to live with her. Living with Rose would be like a dream come true for Faith. Rose was ten million times nicer than her own parents were.

Faith hadn't planned on being late, but there had been a mix up of coats and Samantha had taken hers because Jennifer had taken Samantha's because Jennifer had forgotten she had left hers at home. By the time they had finally figured out that and she had started the long walk to the court house it was already three ten. The walk would take at least twenty minutes and she was supposed to be there at three thirty. This meant if she walked quickly the whole time she would make it. That plan went wrong when her old backpack that she had gotten from the dollar store four years ago that she used for school had ripped. She then spent five minutes collecting all her stuff and trying to clean off the mud that had gotten on her math book. Then there was the accident that had one of the roads she had to take blocked off. Finally, fifteen minutes after she should have gotten there Faith was turning the corner by the court house.

Not paying attention to what she was doing Faith ran right into a man who was also distracted by something.

"Sorry sir" Faith mumbled as she once again started picking up all her school supplies.

"No problem just as much my fault as it was yours" The man said.

Faith looked up recognizing the man's voice. "Doctor?" she asked surprised to see the insane man from her backyard once again.

"Faith! What are you doing here?" The doctor asked.

"What am I doing here? I live in this town! You on the other hand have only ever been here twice, so a better question is what you are doing here"

"Oh well I am umm looking for something, something you might be able to help me find actually"

"Well what are you looking for" Faith asked excited to help the strange man.

"I'm looking for a tree" The doctor said.

"A tree" Faith repeated slightly disappointed. She had expected it to be something slightly more interesting than a tree.

"Yes a tree" the doctor confirmed "But not just any old tree, no, I'm looking for a big tree. Like a superdy-dupper big tree that shouldn't be as big as it is"

"Well there's the one by the school" Faith supplied thinking of the giant tree that you could easily hid multiple people behind.

"Ahh School, children, learning, of course! Why didn't I think of it before?" The doctor turned and started running towards the school but he suddenly stopped. "Faith you were in a rush, did I make you late? I could give you a ride if you'd like" His eyes were twinkling when he said ride as if he didn't mean in a car.

"No that's alright I'm just going down the road"

The Doctor face fell "Okay then I'd better be off. Bye Faith" The Doctor said taking off once again.

"Bye Doctor" She called after him unsure if he actually heard her or not.

Faith looked at her watch which read three fifty. "I am so dead" faith whispered to herself before sprinting to the Court House nearly running into a police box she could have sworn wasn't there before.

Faith ran into the room and took her seat between her mother and her father. "And where have you been?" her mother sneered but kept her voice at a whisper "It's as if you're trying to make us look bad"

"I'm sorry there was a problem with the coats and then my back pack ripped and the accident and then the doctor and I'm really sorry" Faith stuttered afraid of what her parents were going to do to her.

Before her mom could reply one of the people in a suit noticed she was there. "Ahh Faith I'm glad you could make it. Would you mind coming up and answering a few questions for me?" he smiled brightly motioning to a chair by the judge.

Faith looked around nervously until she spotted Rose who was nodding encouragingly at her. Slowly Faith got up and made her way to the front and sat in the chair.

"Faith my name is Mr. Simons and I'm going to ask you some questions that I want you to answer as best as you can okay" the suit man said.

Faith nodded so he began asking questions. "Faith can you tell me who those people are" he asked pointing to her parents.

"That's my mom and dad" she answered smiling at the silly question.

"And to you like your parents" He asked.

"Well they are my parents' don't I have to like them?"

"No you don't if they are mean to you you don't have to like them"

Faith looked over at her parents then looked at Rose and she decided what she was going to do. She decided to tell the truth and hopefully she wouldn't have to deal with her parents reaction like Rose said. "No I don't like them"

Mr. Simmons smiled "Is that because the are mean to you" faith nodded so he continued "Do they hurt you" again faith nodded "How do they hurt you"

"They hit me a lot and leave bruises so I always have to wear long sleeves otherwise people stare"

Mr. Simmons nodded as if he expected that answer. "Faith you were late today can you explain why?"

"Umm well my coat got mixed up with the other girls and then my bag ripped on the way home cause it was old and then I had to clean the mud off my math book and there was an accident on so I had to take the long way here. Oh and I stopped because a man was asking me questions"

"What man?"

"Umm he is a man I meet on my way here. He was very nice asking me questions and he even offered to give me a ride here but I was just down the road so I said no"

Mr. Simmons was shocked at what she had just said, assuming the Doctor had other intention than actually giving Faith a ride here. "Thank you Faith that will be all" he said composing his features.

"Umm Mr. Simmons" Faith said meekly.

"Yes" he said surprised the young girl would talk after already being dismissed.

"Could I go sit down by Rose I don't want to sit where I was earlier"

Mr. Simmons gave her a warm smile "Of course you can"

Happily Faith jumped down from the tall chair she had been sitting in and walked over to the open chair next to Rose. When she sat down Rose put an arm around her and squeezed her shoulders. "Good job sweetheart" Rose whispered into her ear.

Across the court room both her parents were sending glares her way, but Faith barely noticed. She stayed next to Rose feeling safe for the first time in a very long time. The only time she left her side was when Faith was once again called up to answer questions, but this time she was asked about Rose. Eagerly Faith told the man about how they meet when faiths parents had left her alone for the night, about McDonalds, and about all the other things she and Rose had done together. By the time Faith was able to sit back down again, everyone had been thoroughly convinced that Rose was a much more suitable parent then the Wiaras were. Needless to say when Faith was leaving the Court house that afternoon she was getting into Rose's car, her parents nowhere in sight.

"So how do you want to celebrate?" Rose asked Faith after the Court House was completely out of sight.

"Can we go to McDonalds again?" Faith asked bouncing in her seat. "Oh and then can we can go to that new ice cream place down the road?"

Rose chuckled at the hyper girl "Of course we can sweetheart whatever makes you happy"

"Really?"

"Really"


	4. Chapter 4

Rose walked down stairs the next morning to see Faith sitting at the table with an intense look on her face.

She seemed to be in deep concentration her face all scrunched up and her tongue sticking out the side of her mouth. Rose couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the sight of the eight year old. "What are you up to kiddo" she asked pulling out the chair across the table from Faith and sitting down. Faith looked up startled just realizing she wasn't alone in the kitchen.

She put down the pencil she had in her hand and looked down at the sheer of paper she had been working on. A slight blush crept into her checks as she discreetly tried to cover the page with her arms "oh this just a picture I was working on. Nothing important"  
>before she could make a sound of protest Rose had grabbed the paper and held it up out of Faith's reach to take a look<p>

She was shocked by the little girl's artistic ability. The man depicted in the picture was much better than the stick figure Rose was able to draw at age eight. Actually, it was better than anything Rose could draw now. The man's big chin and floppy hair along with the bow tie and suspenders made him look kind of goofy in a mad professor sort of way. Sure, it was no Mona Lisa but for an eight year old, it was pretty impressive.

"Oh cut it out" Rose said to the little girl currently trying to jump high enough to reach the picture in the taller women's hands. "You're an amazing artist"

Faith stopped jumping and looked skeptically up at Rose. "You aren't just saying that right?"

"Of course not, this is amazing Faith. Why on earth would I say something I didn't mean?"

"I don't know" Faith mumbled looking at the ground nervously "mummy and daddy said my art was stupid"

"Oh Faith" Rose gasped grabbing the little girl into her arms she hated those to humans more than she has ever hated any human before. The way they treated this poor little girl was unforgivable. It was people like them who gave humans a bad rep among the stars.

"They have no idea what they are talking about" she whispered into Faith's ear "you are the most amazing artist I have ever seen."

She looked up at Rose her eyes lit up with joy "really?" she asked.

"Really" Rose confirmed squeezing her softly before letting go.

"Now tell me about the picture" Rose said as she sat back down after making a cup of tea for both of them.

"It's a picture of my angle" she said softly.

Rose tried to keep the confusion out of her tone as she asked "what do you mean your angel?"

"Well he has visited me twice so far once the night before you came and then again right before my parents left last year. Both times I have seen him something good has happened right afterwards. It's like he is warning me things are going to get better"

Rose smiled slightly assuming he was just a dream or a figment of her imagination. Imaginary friends were perfectly normal for a young kid and she would probably grow out of it soon. "Does he have a name" Rose asked playing along for Faith's benefit.

Faith grinned broadly "yes, he calls himself the Doctor"

Rose nearly spit out the tea she had just drank but luckily was able to choke it down. Suddenly the idea of her not imagining this person became much more likely. So caught up in her thoughts Rose almost missed Faith continuing to talk "I don't think that was his real name though. It seems odd doesn't it? Imagine having the Doctor as your first name"

She looked at Rose expecting an answer so Rose quickly replied saying "yeah very odd" after taking a deep breath to regain her composure she continued "tell me about the times you meet him"

Faith, unaware anything was wrong, quickly launched into the stories of her encounters with the Doctor. Rose's thoughts were confirmed when Faith told her about how his eyes looked older than his body and the way he babbles on about useless stuff.

As Faith finished her story, her tone became slightly sad again "when I told people about him before they all thought I was insane so I stopped telling people. Do you believe me?"

Rose looked straight into Faith's stormy grey eyes and said "of course I believe you and would you like to know why?" Faith didn't say anything just eagerly nodded her head do so Rose continued "I believe you because I've meet him too"

Faith's eyes widen in shock and a grin the size of the moon crept onto her face "you have?" she asked in wonder.

"Yes I have a very long time ago. It almost feels like another life time to me" Rose smiled to herself at the thought of the Doctor. It was a topic she hardly ever let her brain travel to. She wasn't going to get her hopes up because that only leads to disappointment, but she had trouble controlling the portion of her brain that was saying maybe she would see him again. Her heart did a little flip at the thought but she quickly crushed the idea before she let it go too far. That always lead to what ifs and those are never good.

She smiled in apology when she realized Faith was looking at her expectantly "I'm sorry what" Rose asked.  
>Faith sighed "I asked how old you were when you meet him"<p>

"Nineteen" Rose replied simply.

"But that's not that long ago" Faith said as she looked over the woman sitting in front of her who could barely pass for 21.

"Faith how old am I?"

"I… I'm not sure" Faith admitted sheepishly. What kind of person doesn't know how old their mum is?

"Ask" Rose instructed Faith softly.

"Umm… how old are you?"

"One hundred and twenty nine"

Faith's mouth dropped to the floor as she stared at Rose trying to comprehend what she just said. Finally, she was able to make words. "No way"

Rose smiled enjoying the look of shock on the girls face. "Way"

"But how? I mean that's impossible, and you said you've meet the Doctor before? Oh, please tell me your story! "  
>"Not right now"<p>

"Why not!" Faith whined.

"Because" Rose said checking the wall clock to make sure her time senses were right, which they almost always were, "If you don't hurry up you are going to be late for school"

"But can't I just skip school today? Please, please, please, please!" Faith begged

"Nope not a chance" Rose chuckled at the grumpy seven year old sitting at the table with her arms crossed. "Come on lets go, and I promise I will tell you all about it when you get home"

"Fine" Faith grumbled getting up from her place at the table.

After she had gone, Rose looked down at the drawing she had left behind and smiled. "I see you've changed your face on me again old friend" she whispered to herself "I guess I should have known you'd get into trouble eventually" she chuckled as she remember what Faith had said about him bringing good luck. It reminded her of all the times people had said all that he brought with him was death and destruction. She took one last look at the picture before she turned away to go take Faith to school and to get herself to work.

Later that day, keeping true to her promise, Rose told Faith a much edited, child appropriate version of her time with The Doctor. When she had finished Faith looked up at Rose with a look of awe "Wow" was all she was able to say.


	5. Chapter 5

Rose was sitting at the table drinking a cup of tea while she waited for Faith to come down stairs. It was Christmas Eve so Faith was off from school and Rose was off from work. Rose taught physics and astronomy at the University about 15 minutes from where they lived. She loved her job more than most people, but that doesn't mean she wasn't very happy to have a holiday. After all, she had a special Christmas surprise for Faith this year that she really could not wait for. She had been contemplating when she was going to do this for a while and she finally decided this was the right time. After all, she had been in this universe for two years, so she really couldn't put it off any longer.

Rose was interrupted from her thoughts by a groggy little girl sitting across the table from her "Morning" she grumbled.

"Good morning Faith how are you this wonderful day?" Rose asked putting as much fake cheeriness into that sentence as her cluttered mind would allow.

Faith groaned "Too much cheeriness in one sentence" Rose bit back a laugh at the little girls reaction. Faith was definitely not a morning person. "Wait is that bacon?" Faith instantly sat up in her seat and turned to look at Rose who had in fact just put bacon on the stove. Her eyes lit up all signs of exhaustion leaving them at once.

This time Rose couldn't help but laugh "Yes it is bacon, after all it is Christmas eve" Rose laughed again when she saw the shocked look of Faith's face. "You didn't forget, did you?"

"Of course not": Faith covered quickly "I just love bacon that's all"

"That's nice Faith" Rose said not buying a single word, well except for the part about bacon. She was pretty sure Faith would do anything if there was bacon involved. One of the first things she learned about Faith after she got custody was that her favorite foods were bacon and fried rice, two things she had never eaten before she started living with Rose.

"So what are we doing for Santa this year we haven't even made cookies for him yet?"

"Don't worry we'll get to the cookies, but first I have something I want to do if you're okay with it" Rose turned away from the bacon she was cooking so she could see Faiths reaction to what she was about to say. "How would you like like to meet a very good friend of mine? He's practically my older brother"

To Rose's relief a huge grin spread across Faith's face and she started bouncing in her chair. A habit Faith was known to do if she got excited "Does that make him my uncle?" she asked hopefully.

"Practically" Rose grinned.

"That is awesome; I've always wanted an uncle! When are we going? Where does he live? Is he going to help us make Santa's cookies? Can he stay for Christmas?" Faith shot of questions leaving Rose no time to answer in between.

When she finally took a breath, Rose snagged the opportunity to answer her questions before she could think of more. "We're going now if you're okay with it. He lives in Cardiff, which is only about a 50 minute drive from our house. I'm sure he would love to help make Santa's cookies if you asked him. I hope he will stay for Christmas, but he might be busy,"

If it was even possibly Faith's grin spread even wider "Come on lets go then! We can eat our bacon in the car" Faith got up from her seat and ran out the door. Rose on the other hand was trying to save the bacon she had forgotten about until Faith had reminded her. Luckily only one of the pieces burned to the point that even Rose didn't want to eat it and a few were good enough for Faith. She thanked god that she hadn't burned them all, she didn't even want to imagine what Faith would have done if she had ruined all the bacon.

She wrapped up the bacon in paper towel and grabbed the things she would need for the trip. Right before she opened the door it swung open thanks to an impatient eight year old.

"Are you coming?" she whined.

"Yes I'm coming" Rose imitated Faith's whiny tone.

Faith giggled "Good you were taking forever. Oh and I forgot to ask the most important question."

"And what might that be" Rose wondered

Faith stared at her like she had just asked what the color of grass was or what the best thing pigs ever did in their life, get turned into bacon of course. When she realized Rose had no clue what she was talking about she sighed "His name of course!"

"His name?" Rose asked, "Well his name is Jack Harkness"

In Cardiff oblivious to what had been going on fifty minutes away the very person who had just been talked about made his way from his office to a very distressed Tosh.

"Ianto said you needed me" he said getting down to business straight away.

"It's this letter Jack it was mysteriously left here this morning and we have no clue where it came from" Tosh reported

"Have you scanned the letter for DNA samples" Jack asked

"Of course I did" Tosh sighed "I did that and I tested for fingerprints, saliva, skin cells, sweat, and everything else you can think of. If someone so much as breathed near this thing I would know."

"And" Jack asked expectantly.

"And nothing! Absolutely nothing! It's as if this stupid letter simply popped into existence from nowhere" Tosh sat down in her seat dejectedly this is what she was good at, but she just couldn't figure it out.

"Is that even possible?" Jack asked oblivious to the mood Tosh was in.

"It shouldn't be but here it is right in front of me"

"So we are dealing with a trained professional?"

"It seems that way"

"Can I see the letter" Jack asked sticking his hand out in a way that made it obvious that it wasn't a question that had more than one answer.

Tosh sighed and placed the letter in his hand. "From what I have figured out its for you" Tosh informed him, "It says captain on the front and inside all it has is an address, a time, and the words see you there. I'm assuming someone wants to meet you"

"Do we know where the address is?" Jack asked as he studied the letter.

Tosh bit back the snarky comment she was tempted to make. Of course she looked up the address. That was the first thing she did after she read the letter. Instead of saying what she wanted to, she replied simply "It leads you to a playground, the kind of one you would find by a school"

"Well then I guess there is only one way to find out what this is all about" he clapped his hands and turned around. Gwen, Ianto, and Owen somehow managed to walk up behind him while he was talking to Tosh. He silently scolded himself for not being more aware of his surroundings, but he just put on his award winning smile, no seriously, he has won awards for it on various planets, and said "Gwen, Owen we have a trip to take"

"You can't be serious Jack" Ianto protested "You have no idea what is waiting for you"

"And we'll never know if we don't go find out now will we? After all we'll be in a park what's the worst that can happen?" Jack said this all with his smile never leaving his face even though he knew so many things could go wrong, and by the looks on his teams face he knew they did too. Luckily they knew better than to argue with him so after ten minutes of preparation they were out the door.

It had been snowing all morning and when the trio arrived at the park the groud was completely covered in a layer of snow. Luckily, the snow falling from the sky had calmed down to a light flurry allowing them the ability to see in front of them.

"So where do we start" Gwen asked as they climbed out of the black van they used for transportation.

Jack scanned the park, there were a number of kids scattered about making snowmen, sledding, and trying to play on the snow covered playground without slipping on ice. He also saw a few adults scattered around, but none that looked suspicious. All the adults were watching children play with smiles on their face; some even had cameras in hand. That was when he noticed her. She was sitting on a bench on the side of the park closet to where the three torchwood agents currently stood. She was wearing a long brown trench coat that showed nothing but her black boots, black gloves, and her face which was partially covered by sunglasses and a black hat. Her hair that was a light brown and had a wave to it, but most of it was tucked back in her hat. She too was staring at the playground, but not in the way the other parents were. She wasn't watching any of the kids playing she was staring into space like she was deep in thought.

"Well why don't we start with her" Jack said pointing to the women he had noticed.

"Fine with me" Gwen shrugged "I just want to get home to Rhys for Christmas eve diner"

"Gwen it isn't even lunch time yet" Owen argued.

"So it's still Christmas eve" Gwen countered.

"Both of you shut up" Jack snapped "I'm going to go talk to her; you to pretend to be a couple happily watching your kid play in the snow. I'll signal if I need you" Jack turned away from two shocked faces smiling to himself as he imagined the pair of them pretending to be a couple. Hey he had to have some fun with this too.

Jack walked up to the women on the bench and sat as far away from her as the bench would allow. Before he can even decide what to say to her, she begins to talk without even looking towards him. "You know captain if you are going to bring secret backup you probably shouldn't walk in with you, kind off ruins the whole secret point. They can come out anyway you have nothing to fear. Have I ever led you wrong before"

She pulls off her glasses and turns to face him. Jack, having recognized the sound of her voice the instant she started talking, stares at her speechless.

"Come on captain look alive I want to meet your friends" Rose stands up trying to bite back the laugh fighting to get out.

Finally after many attempts to talk with nothing coming out Jack manages to choke out a word "Rosie" he gasps.

Rose smiled at the familiar nickname. It had been way too long, about one hundred ten years to be exact. "Hello Jack" She said.

Jack stood up and pulled her into a bone crushing hug "But you… you were gone… he said you couldn't come back. Rosie what happened?"

Rose sighed; this was the part that she wasn't looking forward to. "I don't know, I honestly don't but I'm here now and that's what matters. Now if you introduce me to your friends I'll introduce you to mine"

Jack pulled back and looked at Rose; he could tell there were things she wasn't telling him but choose to save it for later. "I like the brown hair by the way very attractive" He said before yelling "Gwen, Owen come here I have someone for you to meet"

Owen and Gwen, who had been watching the whole thing growing more and more confused as it went on, were happy to finally figure out what had been going on. While Jack was watching the two of them come over, he missed Rose nod at a short little girl who had been playing in the snow. She too came over to join in on the fun.

"Rose this is Gwen and Owen they" he paused suddenly when he saw Faith standing next to Rose "explain" he demanded.

Rose laughed at the shocked look on Jacks face "Oh it's not what you think captain, this is Faith, I kind of adopted here almost two years ago. Faith this is Jack"

Jack shock was made even worse when Faith hugged him "Hello Uncle Jack" she said into his stomach. After all, she was only 3'9 so she was barley taller than his legs.

"Hello there Faith" jack said ruffling her hair slightly uncomfortably; he really had never been good with children.

When Faith let go Owen spoke up for the first time. "Yes lovely so want to tell us what the hell is going on" he asked more than slightly annoyed.

Gwen smacked him across the chest "Owen you can't curse in front of children" she scolded him.

Rose smiled thankfully at Gwen who smiled back. "I'm Rose a old friend of Jack's" Rose said sticking out her hand to shake Gwen's.

"It's nice to meet you Rose. Jack never really talks about any of his friends very often so it's nice to get to meet you. This Jerk over here is Owen by the way. I apologize in advance for anything he says or does"

Rose laughed slightly at this "Count me warned"

"So Rosie" Jack interrupted the two women "What's with all the mystery anyway"

"Oh you know so much more fun that way" Rose smiled.

"Hey Uncle Jack" Faith piped up "Mummy said that if you wanted to you could come stay with us for Christmas. You could help us make cookies and hang stockings and open presents and stuff"

Before Jack could come up with an excuse of why he couldn't go without admitting he didn't do the whole domestics thing Gwen ruined it. "Oh Jack you should go, we don't need you for anything after all. Even the weevils haven't been acting up lately. And god knows how much you need a break! When was the last time you took a day off? Actually I don't think you ever have as long as I've been working here,"

Jack signed he knew he had no choice now, but Faith made it even worse "Please" she said bating here eye lashes in the most adorable puppy dog face Jack had ever seen.

"Fine" he sighed in defeat "I'll go, but I swear Rose if you burn the turkey for Christmas even diner like you did that time you convinced us to celebrate on the T.A.R.D.I.S I'll never agree to anything like this ever again," Rose stuck her tongue out at Jack, but didn't say anything because she remembered the burnt turkey very well.

"Yay!" Faith squealed "come on no time to waste!" she grabbed Rose and Jacks hands and started pulling them away.

"It was nice meeting you" Rose called over her shoulder to Gwen and Owen.

Jack just looked pleadingly at the two who just laughed at him and waved goodbye.

Despite Jacks fears, decorating cookies was not as bad as he feared. He and Faith even got into a frosting war when Rose had her back turned. Of course they got stuck on clean up duty, but even Rose couldn't get mad at them, since she was too busy laughing at the way Faith had managed to turn all of Jacks hair blue and how Jack had caused red frosting to drip from Faiths face like vampire blood. Opening presents the next morning Jack was surprised to find a pile for himself courtesy of Rose. He felt guilty that he had not gotten her or Faith anything, but he couldn't help it. He promised himself he would make it up to them while he happily opened the pile set aside for him. Rose even managed to make an amazing Christmas dinner that night without burning one single thing. By the time he went to bed he secretly hoped that he would be invited back next year.

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><p><strong>Hey guys! Thank you soo much for reading my story! Please tell me what you think, I love getting reviews. Comments, suggestions, and constructive criticism are welcome. I hope you enjoy the story as much as I enjoy writing it. Love you all :)<strong>

**Rosie 3**


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